Pop Filter Hot Pick: Drusky and VIA bring Kuenta i Tambu to Cattivo

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As we rapidly approach the announcement for VIA’s fifth iteration of their new media and music festival on August 5, it’s a good thing to be reminded about the forward thinking production crew’s ability to bring internationally renowned electronic musicians to Pittsburgh, and the show they have lined up on Aug.1 is no exception.

VIA, along with Drusky Entertainment, have teamed up to bring tropical bass outfit Kuenta i Tambu (which translates to “words and drums" in the Caribbean language Papiamento) to newly annointed live music venue Cattivo in Lawrenceville this weekend.

KiT, like many of the acts VIA books, not only ply their trade making culturally advanced dance music, combining Afro-Curaçaoan tambú music with ravey EDM beats, but also, they have the ability to absolutely obliterate dance floors. (Look at this video of their performance in Los Angeles last month for evidence.)

The Carribbean-via-Amsterdam-based quintet’s 2013 album Tambutronic is a shotgun blast of globe trotting house music made even more potent and flexible by the injection of traditional forms of percussion, like the Tambu drums and the Chap. The “tambu” music the group plays was prevalent in “work songs” for slaves on the Carribean island of Curacao, and KiT use the style as a jumping off point for referencing all manner of island music, including reggaeton, dancehall, and zouk.

KiT’s lead single “Jackhammer” has the group’s lead singer Diamanta von Lieshdek calling out pretty much every dance scene in the world in a thick patois over whirling dervish production that’s chock full of diamond precise percussion parts, whining synth squeals and double time bass.

For those of you with reservations regarding the ethical implications of cultural tourism in Diplo’s dancehall project Major Lazer, KiT gives you the genuine product. Tambutronic is less a party-starter than a full-on assault aimed to get people moving; aggressive, rhythmic, and tempered by gorgeous fleeting bits of island harmony.

Don't miss a chance to have a wholly original dance floor experience when Kuenta i Tambu roll through Lawrenceville this Friday. (146 44th Street, Lawrenceville, Cattivo)